Editorial Reviews
Description:Disney*Pixar invite you to discover these masterpieces of storytelling from the creative minds that brought you Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and many more. With revolutionary animation, unforgettable music and characters you love, these dazzling short films have changed the face of animation and entertainment and are sure to delight people of all ages for years to come. Experience them now – for the first time together in an amazing collection including never-before-seen footage.
Amazon.com:Pixar's unprecedented string of hit animated features was built on the short films in this collection. John Lasseter and Ed Catmull used these cartoons the way Walt Disney used the "Silly Symphonies" during the 1930s: as a training ground for artists and a way to explore the potential of a new medium. Although it's only 90 seconds long, "Luxo, Jr." (1986) ranks as the "Steamboat Willie" of computer animation: For the first time, audiences believed CG characters could think and feel. (It was also the first CG film to make audiences laugh.) When the artists began work on
Toy Story, they had learned so much from the shorts, they were ready to undertake that landmark creation. In the later shorts, the viewer can see the artists continuing to experiment: with a more realistic human figure in "Geri's Game" and with new ways of suggesting atmospheric effects in "Boundin'." Some of the more recent shorts continue the adventures of the characters from the features. "Jack-Jack Attack" reveals what happened to the hapless baby-sitter while the Incredibles were off fighting Syndrome, while "Mater and the Ghost Light" shows that life goes on for the inhabitants of Radiator Springs. When Sully from
Monsters, Inc. tries to adjust his seat in "Mike's New Car," the animators prolong the moment to wring every drop of humor from the situation--just as an earlier generation of animators milked Wile E. Coyote's antics for all they were worth. The long-unseen films for
Sesame Street are an unexpected bonus. A delightful collection of entertaining shorts, and a significant chronicle of the growth of computer animation. (Rated G: suitable for all ages: cartoon violence)
--Charles SolomonCustomer Reviews
Average Customer Review
Visual Feast, August 25, 2008
By
Yvette (Clearwater, FL)
My daughter received this for her birthday and loves it. She wants to watch it every day and it has quickly eclipsed her favorite movies. She is so tickled by all the shorts. While we own all of them with each Pixar movie, it really is a treat to have them all lined up together in one package.
I am really in awe of how good the early pieces are from the 80's. It certainly goes to show that it is the story that drives the films, even the earlier work with less finesse by today's standards still is amazing and endearing.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant, August 12, 2008
By
wiredweird (Earth, or somewhere nearby)
If a feature-length animation corresponds in some way to a novel, then a cartoon like one of these corresponds to a short story - you know, five or ten pages, and you're done before the coffee gets cold.
In this case, you'll just forget the flippin' coffee. Each little featurette is a gem unto itself. "Luxo Junior" showed the absolute mastery of characterization over body - those two show more personality in that little interlude than Keanu Reeves has shown in his whole life. "Red's Dream" - well, words just don't do it justice. I saw it back on the Siggraph circuit, and its emotional impact has lost nothing in the decades since. "Jack Jack's Attack" just reminded me that being really funny means being real. Kari came across as real and more than real, down to her sprawling gestures in telling her story. And, it laces in nicely with "The Incredibles."
In terms of absolute volume, there's not a lot here. But it's dense, and that gives it the mass to warrant attention. Pixar has always been on the out-there edge of animation, and this shows the edge at its sharpest.
-- wiredweird
PS: I remember the original beach babe too. That was a nice bit of humor, but a different kind of humor. It's not worth getting upset over.
The evolution of Pixar, July 20, 2008
By
E. M. Van Court (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA)
"Pixar Short Films" is the technical and artistic evolution of Pixar. Hit 'Play All', and understand that you'll start slowly. By the third short, Pixar finds their legs and and accelerates. From a slow start in 1987 to a hilarious piece from 2007, this DVD spans 20 years, showing steady improvement in technology and concept.
Each piece stands alone, almost all are brilliant, and all are part of the DNA of Pixar as elements of older shorts continue to show up in the following pieces.
I loved it.
Van
Grand Kids Loved It, July 13, 2008
By
Howard R. RaimondoMy Grand Children thoroughly enjoyed PIXAR,
I might ad the Adults enjoyed it as well.
Fun to watch, July 12, 2008
By
M. Johnson (San Diego, CA)
This Pixar shorts collection is even better than I expected. I thought I had seen them all, but there are several older shorts that I had never seen. Also, if you select to have the narration on during the animations, you hear all sorts of interesting facts about how and why they created the aspects of the animation. If you like Pixar animation, you should get this DVD.
